Dhulikhel, traditional with a blend of modernization

A Newari trading town located on a hilltop at an altitude of 1700 m, Dhulikhel is less than an hour’s drive towards the east of Kathmandu. A tourist friendly town, Dhulikhel provides an extremely pleasant environment for holidays and is a perfect getaway from the crows, pollution and hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. If you want to experience village life, still being near to one of the most developed and biggest cities of Nepal, Dhulikhel is the town you might want to try visiting.

Several hotels and resorts are available in Dhulikhel that provides first-class amenities, ‘classy’ service and beautiful location at affordable and considerable prices. There are over twenty four hotels in and around the town with some having high ‘star’ ratings. Altogether, 300 rooms are available for the guests with some hotels providing small to medium sized convention facilities. Most of the hotels are situated in a forested location to given the guest more closeness to the nature and natural environment.

There are many activities that could be done while visiting any of the resorts and hotels, here, in Dhulikhel. The activities include relaxing comfortably in the sunny garden, take a day walk to Tibetan stupa and monastery of Namobuddha, which is popular too or walk through the beautiful farm fields to the medieval village of Panauti. You can also take a hike across a countryside named Manegaon which is often left out by most of the tourists due to lack of knowledge about it. The village which is reached through Panchkhal is a Tamang ethnic community and provides a wonderful place to observe the culture of Tamang community in Nepal.

Other short walks from Dhulikhel include a visit to the Bhagwati Temple at Palanchowk or to Baralgaon-Tinpipal which allows the visitors to observe typical village lifestyles. Also, longer trips are available which can be arranged from there that will take you to Kodari on car and then to Tibetan Border or rafting through the spectacular SunKoshi river gorge. You could also go on a leisurely walk through the old Dhulikhel that offers you the glimpse of centuries old ethnic town which served as a stop on the Kathmandu-Tibet overland trade route. Although it became modernized after the construction of the Arniko Highway, it still has architectural, religious and cultural heritage giving it an authentic feel. It is well facilitated and also one of the best Universities of Nepal, Kathmandu University is situated there.